Likud: Former Defense Minister Ya'alon is spouting nonsense

Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon participated on Saturday in a Shabbatarbut event in Kibbutz Yagur in northern Israel, using the opportunity to slam Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

According to Ya'alon, the reason Netanyahu was not investigated for his role in the "submarine affair" was because of how such an investigation would influence Israel's security.

The submarine affair, known as Case 3000, began in November 2016 after allegations that David Shimron, Netanyahu's personal attorney and second cousin, convinced him to purchase the subs from ThyssenKrupp rather than through an international tender.

Police suspect a series of crimes was committed surrounding the purchase of three submarines from the German company ThyssenKrupp, including bribery, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.

However, police have asserted that Netanyahu currently is not a suspect in the case.

"If the Prime Minister were to be incriminated in this case, we would not have submarines when we need them," Ya'alon said. "That is the only reason I can see for how careful [police have been] not to touch him yet. It's about responsibility for Israel's security."

"I have no doubt that Netanyahu is corrupt. I understand that he prefers money over the good of the State. And I say, enough is enough.

"Everyone around him is suspect, but he doesn't know about it? If he didn't know, he's not running things properly, and he should go home. And if he did know - he should go to prison."

"The fact that Bugi (Moshe - ed.) Ya'alon's testimony was decided by the police to be a collection of gossip does not prevent him from continuing to obsessively spout nonsense in order to receive a few more drops of attention from the media. It's absolutely embarrassing," Likud said in response to Ya'alon's statements.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu is not a suspect in the submarine case, and law enforcement has said so over and over again, including earlier this month."